Turbocharged and supercharged engines may be configured to compress ambient air entering the engine in order to increase power. Because compression of the air may cause an increase in air temperature, a charge-air-cooler may be utilized to cool the heated air thereby increasing its density and further increasing the potential power of the engine. If the humidity of the ambient air is high, however, condensation (e.g., water droplets) may form on any internal surface of the charge-air-cooler that is cooler than the dew point of the compressed air. During transient conditions such as hard vehicle acceleration, these water droplets may be blown out of the charge-air-cooler and into the combustion chambers of the engine resulting in increased potential for engine misfire, loss of torque and engine speed, and incomplete combustion, for example.
One approach for reducing the amount of condensation entering the combustion chambers is disclosed in US Patent Application Publication 2011/0094219 A1. In the cited reference, a condensation trap for a charge-air-cooler that reduces the rate at which condensation enters the combustion chambers of the engine is disclosed. The condensation trap includes a reservoir for collecting the condensate and a tube for releasing the condensate back to the outlet duct.
The inventors herein have recognized various issues with the above system. In particular, the condensation trap is positioned downstream of the charge-air-cooler and thus can only collect condensation downstream from an outlet of the charge-air-cooler. This configuration may not adequately address condensation trapped within the charge-air-cooler.
As such, one example approach to address the above issues is to position a condensate entraining system within the charge-air-cooler. Then, to solve the issue of removing the collected condensate, flow from the charge air of the chair-air-cooler can be harnessed. In this way, it is possible to drive condensate out of the charge-air-cooler while using a natural condensation collection point within the charge-air-cooler as a reservoir. Specifically, a condensate conduit couples the natural condensation collection point to an outlet passage of the charge-air-cooler. This configuration enables the condensate entraining system to readmit condensate droplets to the airstream. Further, by taking advantage of air pressure harnessed from the charge-air-cooler, the rate at which condensation enters the engine cylinders can be more regulated even during transients.
Note that additional condensation traps and readmitting systems may be used to reintroduce condensation into the airstream. Further, various methods may be employed to control the rate at which condensation is readmitted to the airstream. Further still, the various methods may be optimized according to engine operating conditions and ambient environmental conditions, if desired.
It should be understood that the summary above is provided to introduce in simplified form a selection of concepts that are further described in the detailed description. It is not meant to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, the scope of which is defined uniquely by the claims that follow the detailed description. Furthermore, the claimed subject matter is not limited to implementations that solve any disadvantages noted above or in any part of this disclosure.